7:30 p.m. vs. Penn State Williams Arena • BTN, 100.3-FM
Another winless foe on tap
Preview: The Gophers (13-4, 3-3 Big Ten) try to regroup after suffering their worst loss of the season Wednesday, 95-68 at Illinois. The Illini dominated in every way for their first conference victory, but the biggest differences were in rebounding margin (39-26) and three-point shooting (8-for-16 to 3-for-14). Gophers G Amir Coffey, who was leading the Big Ten in conference play with 23.4 points per game, was held to nine points on 2-for-13 shooting. Penn State (7-11, 0-7) has lost five in a row but was close to its first conference victory before falling 89-82 at home to No. 24 Iowa on Wednesday. Pat Chambers had a four-game winning streak vs. the Gophers before losing two in a row, including in overtime 95-84 at State College last season.
Players to watch: Gophers F Jordan Murphy, who leads the Big Ten with 11.6 rebounds per game, needs five rebounds to surpass Ohio State's Herb Williams for third place on the Big Ten's all-time list with 1,111. Murphy had 11 points and a season-low three rebounds in 24 minutes Wednesday. … F Lamar Stevens leads the Nittany Lions in scoring (18.1) and ranks second in rebounding (8.0). He was held to eight points on 4-for-18 shooting vs. Iowa.
Numbers: The Nittany Lions have an overall strength of schedule ranked second in the nation, by KenPom. Their five consecutive losses were at Nebraska and to four ranked teams in Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Iowa.
MARCUS FULLER
